STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTO BY MARLYS HALL

“A Simple Celebration of the Good News.”

The Sun Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church is offering a “simple homemade” Christmas program for the community on Saturday, Dec. 21, followed by a baked potato feed.

It’s a “no-frills humble” service that will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at the church at 705 S. Main St. in Hailey

No choir. No organ music. No candle procession. No nativity scene filled with shepherds, wise men or angels. No camels or sheep.

Instead, individual church members will sing a solo, play a violin, do a reading or say a prayer to celebrate the miracle that changed the world. Attendees will be able to join together in singing traditional carols.

The gathering will include such familiar carols as “What Child is This?” “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” “Hallelujah,” “Mary, did you Know?” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

“We have connected with many people outside of our church family this past year or so through our activities with the Wood River Interfaith Council, our emergency housing partnerships with The Advocates and St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center, and through our task force participation with the Mental Well-Being Initiative,” said Pastor Stephen McCandless. “We decided to invite anyone who would be interested to join us for our modest Christmas program and to stay for a vegetarian baked potato-bar and salad lunch afterwards. We value connecting and nurturing a sense of belonging in our community.”

Head elder John Hall said the gathering reflects the idea that the first Christmas was not the way Mary would have planned the birth of her Son, but it was the way God planned it: “Simple. Humble. A small gathering.”

Those who would like to join in the gathering are asked to RSVP to 208-720-8305 by noon Friday so church members can put enough potatoes in the oven.